The Genetic Diversity of Mink () Populations in China.

The American mink () is a semiaquatic species of Mustelid native to North America that is now widespread in China. However, the knowledge of genetic diversity of mink in China is still limited. In this study, we investigated the genetic diversity and identified significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in mink populations of five different color types in three different mink farms in China.

[Effects of the removal of invasive Moso bamboo on soil microbial biomass and enzyme activities in subtropical forests].

Removal of invasive plant species is the first step to restoring the invaded ecosystems. The soil microbial biomass and extracellular enzyme activities were measured in Moso bamboo () pure forest (completely invasion), invasive removal forest (secondary succession 5 years after clear cutting), and the evergreen broadleaved forest (no invasion) in Tianmu Mountain. The results showed that compared with pure forest, invasive removal significantly increased the contents of soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrate nitrogen, available phosphorus and potassium, as well as microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP), while significantly decreased microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN).

Denitrification performance and bacterial flora analysis of immobilized denitrification filler in industrial wastewater.

The study aimed at evaluating the nitrogen removal performance of the immobilized denitrification filler, and the influence of shock loading on the high-rate denitrification process. A pilot scale reactor was operated for treatment of aniline production wastewater. The nitrogen removal activity significantly increased in the continuous feed experiments, reaching 5.

[Research on Denitrification Performance of Enhanced Secondary Effluent by Embedded Denitrification Filler and Pilot Application].

The use of an embedded broad-spectrum high-efficiency denitrification filler to treat secondary effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plants can effectively reduce total nitrogen (TN) concentration of the effluent. This study consists of two parts. The D1 stage studies the adaptability of the secondary effluent based on the embedded denitrification, removal effect of total nitrogen, stable working conditions, and backwashing conditions; In the D2 stage, the change in the nitrogen removal performance of the filler under the condition of a year-long stable operation was studied.

Analysis of rapid culture of high-efficiency nitrifying bacteria and immobilized filler application for the treatment of municipal wastewater.

Activated sludge from the A/O process in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was used as the seed sludge for enrichment to achieve faster growth of nitrifying bacteria and higher nitrification efficiency of the filler made by nitrifying bacteria. The bacterial community was enriched in a self-circulating bacteria culture tank by a continuous ammonia feeding mode. The study found that the nitrifying bacteria community was enriched in 38 days with the ammonia oxidation rate of approximately 275.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Mink (Neovison vison) Skin Reveals the Key Genes Involved in the Melanogenesis of Black and White Coat Colour.

Farmed mink (Neovison vison) is one of the most important fur-bearing species worldwide, and coat colour is a crucial qualitative characteristic that contributes to the economic value of the fur. To identify additional genes that may play important roles in coat colour regulation, Illumina/Solexa high-throughput sequencing technology was used to catalogue the global gene expression profiles in mink skin with two different coat colours (black and white). RNA-seq analysis indicated that a total of 12,557 genes were differentially expressed in black versus white minks, with 3,530 genes up-regulated and 9,027 genes down-regulated in black minks.

An examination of the origin and evolution of additional tandem repeats in the mitochondrial DNA control region of Japanese sika deer (Cervus Nippon).

Tandem repeat units are only detected in the left domain of the mitochondrial DNA control region in sika deer. Previous studies showed that Japanese sika deer have more tandem repeat units than its cousins from the Asian continent and Taiwan, which often have only three repeat units. To determine the origin and evolution of these additional repeat units in Japanese sika deer, we obtained the sequence of repeat units from an expanded dataset of the control region from all sika deer lineages.

[Association analysis between SNPs of the growth hormone receptor gene and growth traits in arctic fox].

Using single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and DNA sequencing, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of growth hormone receptor (GHR) gene were detected in an arctic fox population. Correlation analysis between GHR polymorphisms and growth traits were carried out using the appropriate model. Four SNPs, G3A in the 5'UTR, C99T in the first exon, T59C and G65A in the fifth exon were identified on the arctic fox GHR gene.